Be True to Yourself

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James 1:14-27,  Deuteronomy 10:16-18 

                      

Audio file is at the end of this text. 
Read the 1st chapter of James to help us all understand how we can have a more "christlike" attitude. James had experienced Jesus for 30 years and realized that Jesus was  who he sais he was.  As Jesus' brother, James knew him in a special way. Their close relationship allows us to learn a lot about who Jesus really was and is.

James tells us that we must understand that Salvation is not about what we do, but about what God did for us. We simply, can't be good enough. The more we trust God the stronger our Faith becomes. Faith is like endurance, it is built up over time. Always remember to trust God over man. Our choice is either to be "born again" or death. Without Faith, death is the ultimate seperation from God.

In verse 19, James gives a good method of living. He says that we need to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. However, James is quick to point out that we should all be doers of God's word rather than just hearers.
It is often easy to fool a lot of people into believing that you are someone that you are not. It is not easy to fool yourself. Be true to yourself and realize that actions and words are important. To be a  pure Christian , we must give out of an open heart, not because of what you expect in return. We must control our tongue and we must take care of those in need.

In Deuteronomy, we learn  more about the expectations that God has for us. To keep ourselves unstained we must live in this world, but we don't have to be like everyone else.

11 18 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

Doing Trumps Talking and Trying

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James 1:22-25                      

11 11 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak

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James 1:19-21                       
Audio file is at the end of this text. 

Here's advice that can turn failure to success, frustration to peace and strained relationships to happy ones.  James writes:

"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and 

slow to become angry, because anger does not 

produce the righteousness that God desires." 

 The Message translation of this passage says:

"Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, 

and let anger straggle along in the rear.  

God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger."

Imagine listening more than you speak!  Listening is hard for most people as most of us are selfish and we're thinking about our own problems or what we are going to say next as we "pretend" to listen to others.  When we listen, we are demonstrating that we truly care about the other person.  After listening carefully, we are in position to be helpful and encouraging to the other person.  Also, when we listen we learn.

James is not saying that we should not speak, he is saying that speaking should only follow a time of listening and learning from others.  

Getting angry over silly things like having to wait as a train passes is a complete waste of energy.  And, getting angry at the people in your life over silly little mistakes is unproductive.  However, there is a time to get angry.  

The leadership at Penn State should have been furious when they learned about a coach abusing young boys.  But,  no one got angry.  Everyone who knew anything about the reports pretended the evil deeds never happened.  Joe Paterno should have listened carefully to all of the facts then turned the guilty man over to the police so the legal system could do its work.  It is morally wrong to abuse children and we have laws in this country to protect children from predators.  Sadly, no one at Penn State got angry enough to protect the children. Of course we are to get angry but come to it slowly and carefully.

How do we keep ourselves in the mindset to listen a lot and speak a little and get angry only over the big things?  Verse 21 says, "Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."

Immerse yourself in the word of God.  Read it, think about it, memorize it, hang around others who do this and you'll have what you need.  Putting into practice these three verses alone will save you from much heartache and pain.

11 4 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

Sight and Sound Tempts

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James 1:12-18,  Mark 7:17-23                        
Audio file is at the end of this text. 
James, the brother of Jesus, writes with such confidence because he witnessed, over a 30-year period of time, perfection lived out.  He saw his big brother, Jesus, obey their parents, do his homework, help around the house and all the while keeping an upbeat, positive attitude.  James probably thought to himself that Jesus was an apple polisher--one of those kids who kissed up to the adults.

It took the death and resurrection of Jesus for James to realize that his brother was truly God.  Jesus was the one sent to stop history and change the hearts of men and women. What a great promise he gives us here in verse 12.  He says if we stick with Jesus, if we love Jesus, if we embrace Jesus and follow his example, we get a crown!

As Americans we're not used to seeing our leaders walk around with crowns on their heads but we use crowns to recognize achievement.  Friday night our homecoming queen received a crown and she looked beautiful in it.  It made her special; she stood out in the crowd.   This verse promises us if we are obedient, we get a crown and I don't think you have to wait until you get to heaven for it.  A Christian who is walking with Jesus I think has a glow, an effervescence, a special appearance, don't you think?  So while we can count on literal crowns some day, you can have the glow of glory now.

When we fall away from Jesus and lose the glow of glory we tend to blame others.  Here James is saying: don't blame God.  God doesn't tempt us to do evil.  It is our own desire to get off the Jesus path that gets us into trouble.  It is the sights and sounds of evil that tempt us and so often these sights and sounds are so subtle that when you look back it almost seems like entrapment.  Ask yourself, "What situations do I put myself in?  Am I bringing on my problems by being in the wrong place, by looking at the wrong Web sites, by listening to the wrong music or the wrong people?"

Verse 14-15 reads, "Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown gives birth to death."

Sin creeps in due to our laziness and low standards.  We must be careful what we look at and what we listen to.  Jesus says in Mark 7:21-23, "For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come---sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander. arrogance and folly.  All of these evils come from inside and defile a person."

James throws up a big red flag and calls us out.  He teaches us not to blame anyone for our sins.  We are to look inside our own heart and remember that nothing evil comes from God and that, "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights."

10 28 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

Called to Joy

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James 1:1-11, Mark 3:20, John 7:1-4
Audio of this message at the end of the text.

Have you ever been put down by others? Have you been made to feel small or inadequate? Sure. We all have. Jesus, too, experienced this.

Mark 3:20 says Jesus was called insane by own family. John 7:1-4 tells how those close to him thought he was running for public office! This makes it clear that Jesus was completely misunderstood by many including his siblings. Those close to him didn't know who Jesus really was. The resurrection changed everything. James, the brother of Jesus, moved from making fun of his older brother to worshiping him, teaching others about him and then dying for his cause. James was completely changed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Have you been changed by your encounter with Jesus? Have you seen the resurrection?

Here's a one-question test you can give yourself: Am I able to stay joyful when I am going through hard times? Can I stay calm when people are making fun of me? This is the instruction James gives us in verse 2. He says, "Consider it pure joy when you face trials because those trials will produce perseverance." This is a very tough test, but, it is the call of the gospel. People without the power of Christ working in their lives get angry, frustrated, bitter or depressed when they face a tough situation. How do we differentiate ourselves if we get angry, frustrated, bitter or depressed when things don't go easy for us? How can we say we are following Christ if our lives look like those who are not?

When people hurt us we tend to want to strike back. James says, that is immature. We are to take the negative situation and stand strong in it. When you do this, you get stronger. Hopefully, the things that bother you when you were 20 won't bother you when you're 40. Maturing in Christ gives you endurance and an ability to put things in perspective.

Need wisdom? Who doesn't?! Verse 5 tells us to go straight to God when we need wisdom. How do we ask God for wisdom? We read the scripture which is the textbook for living. God has given us every answer to every question life throws at us. And, guess what? When you ask God for an answer to your question, God gives it graciously without thinking less of you.

James packs power in these few verses. Got joy? Got wisdom? Got stamina in the storms of life? That's the promise of the resurrection.

10 21 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

Teach With Your Life

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II Timothy 2:1-15
Audio of this message at the end of the text.

Paul writes to Timothy to help him stay on track. Verse one says, "So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me...." What had Timothy already heard?

See the basic teaching in verses 11-13.
"If we die with Christ, we'll live with him.
If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up--
for there's no way he can be false to himself."

Next, in verse 14 Paul is clear that we are not to argue over small points. My father was working in Illinois as a pastor and was told by a man, "the problem in the town is right there." My father thought he was pointing to a saloon or a strip joint but the man was pointing to a Christian church of a different denomination. It is a waste of our valuable time, Paul says, to fight over small things as long as we agree that Jesus Christ is our personal savior and the savior of any individual who invites Christ into his or her heart. That is the gospel we are to teach and live out in our lives.

Look at verse 15 to see how we are to live out our faith in Christ. It says, "Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple."

A glance back at verse 6 shows us that Paul does not expect us all to be preachers. We are all to work at the thing we do best and all work can be done to bring glory to God. And, when we bring glory to God we attract the attention of our co-workers, our boss, our customers and our family. We attract positive attention because our lives are being lived by putting others first. When we strive to stay close to God, we teach the gospel with our lives.

10 14 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

October 7 Audio File

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10 7 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

Our Holy Calling

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II Timothy 1:1-12                                    
Audio File is at the end of this text.   

Paul was an old man when he wrote to his protege, Timothy. Paul had gone on to Macedonia and left Timothy to lead the church at Ephesus and Paul knew that Timothy needed encouragement to stand strong.

Paul throws down the gauntlet and in verses 7-10 he writes, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."

The concept of eternal life is brand new at the time of this writing. It is hard for us to imagine this situation but do we live our lives confident of the resurrection?  Do we really believe that we will follow Jesus' path to eternal life with him?  Paul is challenging us to live what we say we believe.  He is saying that our lives should be lived boldly, with no fear.  We should be walking and talking our faith and standing out in the crowd of the timid and cautious.  Paul says we have a holy calling and we must stand strong and say with him, "I couldn't be more sure of my ground--the One I've trusted in can take care of what he's trusted me to do right to the end." 

I say, live like Jesus is standing right next to you because he is.

9 30 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

September 24 Audio File

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9 24 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

September 16 Audio File

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9 17 2012 by Coliseum Place Baptist Church on Mixcloud

Forgiving Frees Us

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Matthew 6:12, Acts 9:1-18, Genesis 50:15-26
Audio of this message at the end of the text.

What keeps us from enjoying our relationship with God? One instruction so many ignore is found in the model prayer. Jesus tells us to pray, "forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors." Jesus may be talking about going easy on people who own you money but I believe his big point is we are to forgive people who hurt us or try to harm us. I don't think if you own rental property Jesus is saying that you don't get to collect on what a renter agreed to pay you. There might be a time when you need to show compassion to a person who owns you money, however, the big teaching point here is about carrying around a grudge or carrying around bad feelings for someone you believe has harmed you.

I will tell you from experience that carrying a grudge never harms the person you are angry with, it only hurts you. When you are able to let go of bad feelings for someone who hurt you, you are free to move ahead with your life. Letting a grudge go is like taking a fifty pound weight off your back. Why do we ignore this very clear instruction? Because the business of forgiveness is hard.

Acts 9:1-18 tells how God told Ananias to seek out Saul and lay hands on him and heal his eyesight. This would be like God telling you to forgive the man who has gone to the police to get a warrant for your arrest! Saul was busy rounding up and executing followers of Christ and Ananias considered Saul evil and dangerous.

Because Ananias was willing to forgive Saul and to follow God's instruction, Ananias was used by God to restore sight to a blind man! Then Ananias watched as God used Saul to spread the Gospel to all the people of the world.

Want to be part of a miracle? Want to see what God can do in your life if you let go of the pile of grudges you are carrying around?

When Jesus taught us to pray and gave us the instruction to forgive others when they hurt us, Jesus must have been thinking how pleased he was that Joseph had forgiven his brothers. As the baby of 12 sons, Joseph was an arrogant twit. I've talked about him before. However, he grew up when his brothers sold him into slavery. Off in Egypt, Joseph humbled himself before God and God used him in powerful, positive ways. Genesis 50:15-26 tells how the brothers got scared when their father died because they assumed that Joseph would seek revenge since their father was no longer around to in a way protect them from Joseph. It is moving to see that Joseph wept when he learned that his brothers were afraid of him. Joseph had moved on. He had forgiven his brothers and had accepted that the terrible thing they had done to him turned out to be God's plan. He said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

If you carry around hatred, resentment, or bitterness toward another person you are only hurting yourself. We are told to forgive just as Jesus forgives us. We are told to forgive because it moves us toward God and toward miracles and toward power. You might think, "I can't forgive and forget." I am telling you we have the promise, "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you." God forgives the worst of the worst and he's been doing it since creation. It's time for you to get free and watch what God can do with your life. Take that burden of hate, resentment, bitterness, anger, and envy and drop it so that God can work miracles in and through you.

9 9 12 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

Steeped in Tradition

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Exodus 12:1-12, Numbers 9:1, Matthew 26:17
Audio of this message at the end of the text.

Do you ever think about the depth of our faith traditions? Today as we observe what we now call, "The Lord's Supper," let's look back at the roots of this.

God told the Jews who were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years that they needed to prepare to leave. God, through Moses, told the people to: find a perfect lamb on the 10th day of the month; keep it penned up until the 14th day then slaughter it; take blood from the lamb and apply it to either side and across the top of their front door; roast the lamb over an open fire; eat the meat with bread made without yeast and bitter herbs; while eating be fully dressed with sandals on and walking stick in hand; eat fast; and, burn over the fire any leftovers.

What must the Jews have been thinking of their leaders, Moses and Aaron? They were thinking, "this sounds crazy. We are slaves, we're not going anywhere. Where are we going to find a perfect lamb? There are 3 million of us that have to find a perfect lamb! Bread with no yeast tastes terrible and bitter herbs taste even more terrible." We know that Moses had been pleading with the Pharaoh to let the Jews leave and God had sent down plagues so God had the attention of the Jews and they were at least open enough to the idea that Moses knew what he was doing. So, they followed the weird set of instructions and every family that kept to the plan was spared. Remember that passover means, God "passed over" every home in Egypt. Homes without blood on the door lost their firstborn child and firstborn animals. If a home had the blood on the door, it was spared this disaster.

In verse 14 of Exodus 12 God instructs us to celebrate this mighty act of faith. So once a year the Jews celebrate Passover to remember the exact day that they were obedient to God and that they were set free from Egypt.

What are you a slave to today? What enemy has you captured? Envy, greed, addiction, jealousy, anger? You need to travel away from what has you enslaved. You need to trust God's instruction for your life even though it might not make sense to you. For about 6,000 years God has been loving us and teaching us how to realize our full potential and that only comes when we are obedient to him. This is not some fly-by-night religion we are engaged in; what we study and what we do is steeped in tradition.

In Matthew 26 we find the story of Jesus keeping the annual Passover celebration. Jesus and his disciples were observant Jews so they stopped their regular activities of healing and preaching to follow the law God put in place thousands of years before. In verses 26-29 we receive the new instruction from Jesus. From this moment forward, Jesus will be the perfect lamb, he will die and his blood will cover us and when we stand face-to-face before God we will be seen as chosen. When we choose Jesus, God chooses us. We are God's chosen people, we are new Jews, we are protected from destruction, disaster and death. The blood of Jesus washes us clean. God sees us as his perfect lambs made perfect by the blood of Jesus.

What do you choose today? Will you follow the instruction God gives us as millions have over thousands of years? Or, will you decide that you can do life just fine on your own. What do you put your trust, God or yourself?

9 2 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

August 26 Audio File

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8 26 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

August 19 Audio File

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August 12 Audio File

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8 12 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

Stay Calm God Wins in the End

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Matthew 10:16-28                           Audio of this message at the end of the text.

Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A has consciously built a business on Biblical principals. He started in the restaurant business in 1946 and after inventing a new way to cook chicken, launched the Chick-fil-A brand in 1961. The mission statement says, "We are in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." Even though they have always been closed on Sunday, in 2010 Chick-fil-A became the most productive fast-food company measured by average sales per store. Chick-fil-A generates $2.7 million per year per store while the second most productive is McDonald's with $2.4 million per year per store. And remember, Chick-fil-A does it in a six-day week!

Look at our passage for today. Jesus explains in advance what we are seeing play out in the life of Truett Cathy and his family-owned company. We read here that if we are following Jesus, we are going to be thrown to the wolves. We are going to face problems, ridicule, persecution and all forms of adversities. Satan is stalking us, watching and waiting to trip us up. Satan is the second most powerful force on this earth and we can't beat him back. Only Jesus can beat him back.

Jesus says, "Be shrewd like a snake and calm like a dove." This week we saw Truett Cathy's son do this. He stayed calm and even offered free lemonade to a tiny group of protesters. When you make a full-court-press effort to stand on Biblical principals, you will be blessed. We are not all going to build billion-dollar companies. But, we will all be blessed, protected, and loved. Jesus knows the number of hairs on your head. He loves you so much and is so concerned about your well-being that he keeps track of your every move and thought.

Let us all be inspired by men and women who we see standing up to Satan. If you have have given your heart to Jesus, you have what they have. When Satan attacks you will be shrewd like a snake and calm like a dove.

8 5 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

No Time To Quit So Eat More Chicken

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Philippians 1:21-26                                                  Archive at bottom of the page. 

You know I don't talk about politics much but today I have to point out what two elected officials said this week that as Christians we must reject.  The mayors of Chicago and Boston basically said they don't want Chick-fil-A in their cities.  Why?  Because the owner of this private company, the son of the founder, said that he personally agrees with the Biblical definition of marriage.  The Chick-fil-A CEO, Dan Cathy, did not say he would not hire or serve homosexuals, he only said that he personally believes that marraige is between one man and one woman.

Everyone knows that due to his Biblical worldview, his restaurants are closed on Sundays.  This is so employees can go to church with their families.  He doesn't require employees to go to church and has no interest in hiring only people who go to church, he simply wants to make it easy for everyone who works for Chick-fil-A to go to worship services on Sunday.

The easiest thing for Dan Cathy to do at this point in his life is quit.  He doesn't need another restaurant, he doesn't need another car or a vacation home.  He has fought the good fight for decades and could be inclined in the face of this publicity to throw in the towel.  But, if Dan Cathy quits, all Christians lose.  So while I never recommend any person buy any specific product, this one time I am asking you to eat at Chick-fil-A. And, when you are in the restaurant, tell the employees you are there to support Mr. Cathy and their entire organization.

We need to stand with Mr. Cathy and show the world that we notice these mayors. What they are trying to do--block a private business from building in their city--is illegal. They are using their powerful bully pulpits to bully us and we need to stand up to them.   How do we do that?  With our wallets.  If every Christian bought a sandwich at Chick-fil-A it would send an amazing message to Mr. Cathy that we do not want him to quit.

When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi he was probably 80 years old.  He was in jail in Rome and in this passage he is basically saying that he might rather leave this earthly fight and go on to be with Jesus in heaven.   He says, "for me dying is gain."  Then Paul catches himself and realizes that because of what the new followers of Jesus are going through, it is better for him to stick it out with them.  He knows they need a strong leader to encourage them in their walk with Christ.

Just like Paul did not quit, we can't quit and we hope and pray that Dan Cathy doesn't quit.  Whatever the world throws at us we are to stand firm for what the Bible teaches.  In this case, you can stand firm by having a meal at Chick-fil-A.

No Cheap Grace

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I John 1:1-2:5, John 15:9-10                                                    Audio File is at the end of this text.  

Have you noticed that today many churches are about entertainment?  Let's not talk about death or blood because we want to get a lot of people in here and get them to come back.  There's not much coming from the pulpit about what Jesus really did for us and how it happened and what he has really called us to do.

You don't hear much about sin and that each one of us sins. The Bible says,
your sins will find you out.

Nathan the prophet came to King David and told him a story about a very rich man taking a poor man's only sheep. While the rich man had thousands of sheep, the poor man only had one but the rich man used his power to take the poor man's only sheep. When King David heard the story he told Nathan, "Bring the rich man to me. I will deal with this terrible man." Then Nathan said to King David, "The terrible person is you."

David thought he could get away with his sin by covering it up. But God sees every sin and in the I John passage and others in the Bible we are told Jesus came to deal with.

I John 2:1 says, "I wrote this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good--not only ours, but the whole earth."

This doesn't mean we keep on sinning and Jesus ignores us and gives us a free pass. Taking in the entire Gospel informs us that the blood sacrifices God required before Jesus were replaced by the painful, bloody death Jesus suffered on the cross. This is the part of the story that is messy and hard to hear but it the only part that really matters.

God promises to forgive confessed sin so our job is to be honest with God and with ourselves. Confess our sin then, I John 2:4-6, says, "Whoever says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

What is the "word" we are told to obey? The famous John 15:12-13 tells us. "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." This is living as Jesus lived. He died for each of us and gives us the free gift of grace. The grace cost him his life and it was a bloody death that bought our freedom.

We are now to walk as Jesus walked, live as Jesus lived.

7 22 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

Falling Short and Into Light

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I John 1:7- 2:17                     

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7 15 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

Choose Light

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John 1:1-5, John 20:30, I John 1:1-10                     

Audio File is at the end of this text.

How do we teach truth?  How do we get young people to listen and learn?  We have to say it over and over and over again.   This is where we find John today.  Most believe that John, the disciple, an eye witness to Jesus' ministry, wrote both the Gospel of John and the letters, 1, 2 and 3 John.  He was an old man when he wrote and was seen as an elder writing to his spiritual children.

With the Gospel we have the story of what he saw with his own eyes.  He recounts the preaching, teaching, healing, death and resurrection of our Lord.  With the letters we have strong advice on how we are to think and live as followers of Jesus.

The Gospel reads kindly and sweetly.  The letters are as if he is exasperated and wagging his finger at us.    He is like the parent telling the same child over and over, "I told you you must eat your vegetables."  Just like our children tend toward the chips when they need the broccoli, the members of the early church were tending toward sin and away from Jesus.  John's frustration is because he knows they know the truth as they have heard it.  They were just like the child who knows they can't get up from the table until they eat the broccoli.  You lecture your children, John lectures us.  1 John 2:1 says, "I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin."

John has a theme:  light.

John 1:5  

"The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out."

1 John 1:5 

"God is light, pure light.  There is not a trace of darkness in him."

What happens when all the lights go out?  You're in a big space, maybe a huge wear house or office building and you're alone because you stayed late to get some work done.  You hear a bolt of lightening strike and all the lights go out.  You don't smoke so you don't have a cigarette lighter but you remember that there's a candle and matches in the restroom.  You find your way there by clinging to the walls and remembering how to go since you've gone this path dozens of times.  It's unnerving to be in this big space alone in the dark.  You tell yourself as long as you can get to the candle you are going to be all right.  The candle will be all you need.

You kick over someone's trash can that was sticking out from a desk.  You're flailing your arms and knock over files, you're running because you don't know what can happen next in all of this blackness.

You feel the metal plate that is on the door going into the restroom and you push in.  It is even darker in the restroom since there are no windows offering any residual light.  You grope around and find the sink and recall that the candle is to the right of it.  There it is.  Now, how about the matches?  Where are they?  Fortunately this office has some very thoughtful people who are good at keeping supplies handy.  You strike the match, light the candle and breathe a deep, deep sigh of relief.  You aren't going to die alone in the dark in this storm.

Groping around in the dark is what John sees followers of Jesus doing and he is yelling at them!  You have access to all the light in the world. You have free power and you will not receive a bill in the mail for it.  You can have the God who placed the sun, moon and stars in the heavens inside your heart and mind and he will shine a never-ending stream of brilliance ahead to guide your way.  What is wrong with you people?  Take the free gift of light and stop flailing away in the dark.

Our nature is to feel our way slowly in the dark.  God says, don't feel your way. Choose light.

7 8 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

A Country of Laws

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Exodus 20:1-17, Isaiah 61:8-9, Deuteronomy 1:15                    
Audio File is at the end of this text.

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence reads... "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with Certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The government was formed to give us life and we must not take this for granted. Life becomes important when it is uncertain. My brother had a mild stroke on Thursday and I'm sure that he is more appreciative of his life today than he was on Wednesday. It is the same with freedom. Freedom becomes important when it is uncertain and every generation must learn how to reverence it and protect it.

With life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness comes responsibilities and God is clear what our responsibilities are. The law he gave to Moses which is found in Exodus is the basis our American legal system. In Deuteronomy we find Moses explaining that there were now so many people, he could not hear all of the complaints so he set up a multi-tiered legal system much like we have in this country today.

Why? Because as it says in Isaiah, "...I, God, love justice." Too bad the children of Israel could not even get the first law right. You know, "You will have no other Gods but me." Over the centuries, the Jewish religious leaders turned the 10 Commandments into over 500 rules. Essentially, they used these rules to put a wedge between the people and their God. No person can keep hundreds of rules.

Jesus then breaks through to throw out the hundreds of laws. To focus the people back on the ten he says just do two things. "Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself." Essentially Jesus' LAW OF LOVE will result in justice for every person. This is our goal, our aim, our true desire. We are a country of laws, we celebrate it this week and remember the ones who died to make us the freest and most blessed country in the history of civilization.

Why are we blessed? Look again at Isaiah. The prophet preaches that God loves his law and when we live by it, we are blessed. And, when we implement the law of love, we implement justice. Let's get back to our roots. Let's remember how the founders placed us on solid ground by forming a country based on God's law.

7 1 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

Don't Be Fooled

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Audio File

6 24 12 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

Fatherly Advice

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Proverbs 1:1-7

On Father's Day let me remind you that the Bible teaches that men are responsible for the home.  Men are not superior to women and women are not superior to men.  God made us to compliment each other.  How do we as men and fathers know how to lead?

It seems to me we have two ways to learn.  One way is from trial and error and the other is from listening to God and our elders who follow God's teaching.  Trial and error is the hard way and God's way eliminates the hard way.

The Bible tells us that Solomon was the wisest man ever to live and he wrote the book of Proverbs which some scholars call, a manual for living.  Think of these 31 chapters as fatherly advice and I believe it comes straight from our creator God through the pen of Solomon.

We all want success but do we choose to seek God's definition or the world's definition of success?  Hollywood dominates our culture and sadly most people want what the stars have. We want fame, fortune and power.  But look at their families.  Look at their marriages and look at their parenting and what becomes of so many of their children.  What seems beautiful on the outside is so often rotten and dying on the inside.

What kind of father do you want do be?  Do you want what the world offers or what God offers? Solomon tells us here in the first few verses how to get started on God's plan for our lives.

The Message translation reads:  These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David's son, Israel's king--Written down so we'll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where its going; A manual for living, for learning what's right and just and fair; To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.  There's something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn--Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.  Start with God--the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

Solomon says, we are to do what is right, just and fair.  Other translations say we are to seek righteousness, justice and equity.  We are to do the right thing even though others are not doing right.  Martin Luther King said, "let us judge a person not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."  Strong character guides us to do the right thing and we only learn what is right by either making a mistake or by following God's way.  Most of us spend most of our lives making mistakes on our own and eventually, over time and after a great deal of pain, we turn to God for help.

The child who is told not to put their hand on a hot cook top will often disobey and try it to see what it is like.  The burned hand then teaches the child that his father was right and that he should heed his father's warnings about problems and pain.  However, we humans are arrogant and think it best to try all sorts of activities that end up burning, breaking and sometimes even killing us.

What is your choice?  The world or God?  How do you want to proceed toward knowledge, insight and wisdom?  Want to keep learning from pain or avoid pain and seek God's way?  God's way eliminates the hard way.

James Needed the Resurrection

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James 1:1-18                                                                  Audio File is at the end of this text.                                                 
When we doubt, when we wonder, when we worry, we are where James was before the resurrection.  In his breath-taking letter it is clear that this second child of Mary had dropped doubting his brother's deity and stood as one of the movement's top leaders.  He writes to the Christian Jews who due to persecutions were scattered all over the country.  They were discouraged, isolated and profoundly saddened by the stoning death of Stephen, one of the movements most powerful leaders.   James was the pastor of the congregation in Jerusalem and there he taught boldly while facing down the dominate intellects who had rejected Jesus as the Messiah.  

Like I said last week, James needed the resurrection as do we!  James did not believe his brother was God, he thought his brother was crazy.  Our creator made us with free will to choose to accept or reject his hand on and in our lives.  James rejected Jesus for 33 years, or you might say, James saw his brother as a regular guy until he started acting crazy by leaving the family business and walking all over the countryside preaching.

We do not know where James was at the time the crucifixion took place.  We know his mother was at the foot of the cross.  It is did not take long though for James to hear that Jesus was dead and that he had walked out of the grave.  We can guess that it was the story of his brother's rising out of death that converted James to the new way. I Corinthians 15:3-9 says that Jesus was raised from death then presented himself to Peter, to John, to a group of 500 followers and then he spent time with James.

Jesus knew that his brother had doubts and by having a one-on-one meeting with James, Jesus sealed the commitment.  James then becomes a mighty voice for and humble servant to  Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe, the first son of his own mother.

James 1

New International Version (NIV)

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Greetings.

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Last week I talked about the first four verses here so let's pick up at verse five.  We have to love that James says God won't ever be angry with us when we come for help.  God won't say, "Yes, you're in trouble now and I told you that you were going to get into trouble but you didn't listen."  God loves us more than we can imagine and he is happy when we ask for help.  Just like Jesus was patient with his brother, James, for not believing in him, Jesus is patient with us.  James, up close and personally, experienced Jesus' grace and James says we will get the same grace.

God will often use wise experts to give you guidance and I suggest that you turn to other Christians when you are stuck and need help.  Of course pray that God will give you someone to help you and then trust that he will.  If I have a legal problem, I can go to Pat or Joel.  Because they are lawyers, they can help me more effectively that if I asked my sons what they think of a legal issue.  God gives us scripture, prayer and others to point us to wisdom.

Next James says we are to trust in God to answer our request.  Not trusting is denying yourself of the full benefit promised when you have a relationship with God.  Think of it this way. I can say that my brother Leon is a fabulous brother.  But, if I never spend time with him, never speak to him, I lose all the joy that comes from us being together.   How silly to let doubt and worry cut us off from a close relationship with God.  You can say you have God in your heart, that heaven is open to you and flowing to you but if you worry, all the joy is cut off.  The conversation stops.  The relationship dies.

James then touches on a subject our culture is obsessed with which can cause even a devout Jesus-follower to become confused.  He says the poor should be proud of being poor and the rich should be humiliated by their wealth.  This is counter intuitive for us. I think he is saying that it is hard to deal with success.  It is hard to give God the glory when the world is patting you on the back.  It is hard to put Jesus ahead of your fortune and fame and James even says, that "the rich will fade away even while they go about their business."

And what does it say in verse 12?  If we hang in with God and stay obedient no matter what comes our way, we get the crown!

Verse 13 dispels the myth that we can blame God for making sin attractive.  James slams that thinking and makes it perfectly clear that God will never tempt us.  When we sin, we have fallen into Satan's trap.  This is tricky because Satan doesn't walk around in a red suit, with a pitch fork, a tail, black eyes and horns coming out of his head.  Satan comes to each of us disguised as a beautiful woman, a pain-killing drug, a bottle of beer or a bit of a shady get-rich-quick scheme.   When we sense sin creeping in, we have to pray and ask God for wisdom.  Stop.  Resist the idea that doesn't seem right and run to Jesus.

Let us end today with one of the sweetest verses in all the Bible.  "Every good and perfect gift comes down to us from our heavenly Father who does not change."  And, evil never comes from God.   Amen.

6 3 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud